My hero, your villain
by Emon087
Summary: Izuku Midoriya has always wanted to be the number one hero, but without All Might to guide him, he starts to find his definition of a hero changing...


"_Is it possible to become a hero even if I don't have a quirk?"_

That same question played over and over in Izuku's mind, but each time All Might's answer was the same. It had been different when Kachaan had told him he couldn't do it, or when his classmates teased him about his dreams, or when his mom gave him that look when he talked about going to UA, but _All Might?_ The number one hero, his idol, who he'd strived to be like just shut him down like everybody else. And it hurt.

Izuku fell to his knees, hot tears rushing down his face. He was alone on the same rooftop where All Might had rejected him just minutes ago, staring at the door like he would come back. Like he would jump out and he'd be all muscular again and tell Izuku that it was all just a bad joke, and that anyone can be a hero… only he didn't. Izuku waited and waited, sobbing while minutes became hours, but All Might never came back. By the time his pain had subsided, the sun had already set.

"Where have you been?!" Mrs. Midoriya shouted when Izuku got home.

"Sorry, Mom." Izuku said timidly, "I got caught up after school."

"With a _villain_ out?!" She asked, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him a little like he was insane.

"A villain?" Izuku asked dumbly.

"You didn't hear?" Mrs. Midoriya let him go and ran to the tv to turn it on. "It's been all over the news. A villain got a hold of one of your classmates. Why, if not for his quirk he could have-"

"Kachaan?" Izuku rushed to the tv like he couldn't believe his eyes. There on the screen was a clip of a villain, not just any villain, but the one that All Might had saved him from, trying to force its way into Kacchan's throat, surrounded by flames. Pro heroes encircled them, but no one moved in to help. _Why aren't they doing anything?_ Izuku thought, panicking. The villain eyed Kacchan, who's face was barely visible among the villain's sludge like tentacles. He looked terrified, and the heat from the fire had him sweating like a pig. He was struggling to fight back, to breathe, to stay conscious, but Izuku knew it was a losing battle. Then when it looked like he was about to give up, there was a white flash, the villain screeched in pain and Kacchan ended up in a crater while pieces of villain splattered against the burning buildings.

_He saved himself. _ Izuku thought. _I couldn't do that._ Just then, All Might's words from earlier that day can back to him.

"_Some villains are just too powerful to beat without a quirk."_

All Might was right. To make matters worse, he was certain it was his fault the villain had escaped again to begin with. The rest of the news report blurred into the background while the anchor gave more details about the villain's capture and Kacchan's condition, and Izuku's mom started talking behind him. It was his fault. Not only had he not helped All Might, but he had actually made things worse. He let his forehead rest on the screen. He didn't mean to hurt anyone, he wasn't a _villain_, but…

_Maybe All Might's right._ Izuku thought. _If All Might himself doesn't believe in me. What chance do I have?_

"Izuku!"

"Wha-?"

"Are you listening to me?" Mrs. Midoriya asked sternly. Izuku gave her a look that let her know he hadn't been. She sighed, and crouched beside him in front of the tv. "Did something else happen today?"

Izuku fidgeted. He knew his mom didn't really think his dreams were realistic, so he wasn't about to tell her that All Might didn't think so either. "No." He got up and made to leave the room without looking directly at her. "I'm going to bed."

"What about dinner?" Mrs. Midoriya, asked. She sounded bewildered, but Izuku refused to look back.

"I'm not hungry." And then he was in his room. Alone. Surrounded by his pictures and actions figures of All Might himself. Izuku flopped face down on his bed to avoid looking at his hero who had told him to give up, forgetting for a moment that his sheets were All Might themed too.

_How could one day go so badly?_

The next day wasn't much better. School was normal, aside from the extra attention Kacchan got for fighting off the villain from the day before, but otherwise Izuku kept to himself, not answering questions the teacher asked or writing in his hero notebook when he had free time. Everything was the same, only colorless and dull. Nothing seemed worth thinking about or doing, and his mother noticed the moment he walked in the door.

"Okay, that's it young man, you tell me what's going on right this instant." She commanded

"It's nothi-"

"Don't tell me it's nothing!" She interrupted. "You've been moping since yesterday. Something's happened and I want to know what it is." She motioned for him to sit on the couch next to her in a gesture that was usually followed by a lecture, a warning, or in one case, a sex talk. Grudgingly, Izuku complied, taking a spot on the sofa.

"It's just…" he hesitated, choosing his words carefully, "yesterday somebody I look up to told me I can't ever become a hero, and, I- I know other people have said that before, but it really hurt this time you know?" Izuku's voice trailed off into barely audible mumbling, but his mom seemed to get the gist of it. She stared quietly at the floor for a moment as if it had just said something mildly inappropriate, and then locked eyes with her son.

"You have wanted to be a hero for as long as I can remember. It means everything to you doesn't it?" Izuku nodded. "No matter what anyone has ever said, you've never let it get to you before. Now how is it that one person can change all that?"

"Because it was- it was, sort of the one person I thought might believe in me." Izuku felt a tinge of guilt when a hurt expression flashed across his mother's face, but it was quickly replaced by a more serious one.

"Get in the car." She said suddenly.

"What? Now?" Izuku asked, confused by the sudden change.

"I said put your shoes on and get in the car, honey. There's something I need to show you." And without any further argument Izuku went to put on his shoes. His mother bustled around the house, grabbing her keys and a jacket, and before long they were out the door. The car ride was silent, with Izuku nervously fiddling with his hands while his mother looked intently at the road, double checking signs as she went, as if she was taking a road she hadn't used in a while. It took about fifteen minutes, but then she finally turned off into a parking lot overlooking what appeared to be a landfill backed up against a beach. Izuku looked around, but there wasn't much else around, aside from one other empty car in the parking lot and a public restroom.

"Where are we?"

"This," Mrs. Midoriya sighed, "is the Dagobah municipal beach." She gestured to the garbage heaped up against the retaining wall. "It's were your father and I had our first date. It used to be really nice here, but that was a long time ago." She looked at him again, with an intensity that made him want to melt away into a puddle. "A real hero would clean all this up, without expecting anything in return, or even without anyone knowing he did it. Real heroism is about doing what's right because it's the right thing to do, not because you get paid for it, or because of how it will affect your reputation."

Izuku blinked at her, surprised that she would be the one to bring up heroes for once.

_Where's this coming from?_

"What are you saying?" But he was starting to feel like he already knew what she was getting at.

"You have ten months until the entrance exams at UA." She said, confidently. "I know because I checked online this morning to be sure. If you can get this whole beach cleaned up by then, then you'll be as much hero material as anyone else." Izuku's eyes took in a panoramic view of the beach, and they were practically swimming, half from the encouragement of his mother, and half from the absolutely monumental task she had just dumped on him. The garbage went as far as he could see in both directions, and he couldn't even catch a glimpse of sand amongst the debris.

"So you think if I can clean all this up, I could still have a chance at becoming a pro hero?" Izuku asked, breathlessly.

"Even if you don't, you'll still have made the world a better place, and that makes you a hero in my book. Come on." She shut off the car and got out, gesturing for Izuku to follow.

What followed where the ten most painful months of Izuku's life thus far. Each day, his mother sat under an umbrella in a clear spot on the beach, cheering him on or reading while Izuku dragged piles of garbage, old appliances, and rusted car parts out of the beach. The work left him starving, but the progress he made improved his mood significantly. He started writing in his hero notebook again, and even became more optimistic about his chances in the entrance exam. By the end of it all, he felt ready.

"This is amazing, Izuku." Mrs. Midoriya remarked the evening before the exam, just minutes after he'd finished clearing the beach. "It's just like how I remember it. And you-" she gestured to his exhausted form, still panting from his last day of work while he collapsed on the towel beside her. "You've really bulked up. No matter what happens next. I just want you to know that you'll always be a hero to me. In fact…" she reached into a large striped bag lying next to her and pulled out a plain white box, and offered it to Izuku. He sat up, his fatigue momentarily forgotten in favor of curious interest.

"What's this?" He asked, taking the box, and examining the outside for some kind of clue as to its contents.

"It's something every hero needs."

He lifted the lid, and his excitement mounted when he laid eyes on what was inside.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"I may have gotten a little ahead of myself, but I got a peak at your notebook."

"No way." Izuku couldn't believe his eyes. He lifted the green jumpsuit from the box, looking it over. "My own hero costume?!" He looked to his mom excitedly, who only smiled and nodded. "Can I try it on?"

"Right now?" Mrs. Midoriya asked.

"Yes, yes, _yes!"_ Izuku bounced, the hood hanging from his jumpsuit flopping with his movements.

"Well ok-"

"Thanks, Mom!" Izuku said, snatching the mask from the now-empty box and dashing across the beach and up the stairs to the bathroom like he hadn't just spent all day hauling junk back up those stairs. While Izuku was changing, a woman stopped at the stairs and gawked at the spotless beach, her eyes finally coming to rest on Mrs. Midoriya, who waved timidly at her in response.

She looked like she may have been about to say something, when the bathroom door burst open, and Izuku came flying out shouting, "I AM HERE!" She screamed, and clutched her purse tightly to her chest as she ran in the opposite direction. Izuku regarded her with confusion for a moment before his excitement picked back up again and he came back down the stairs to meet his mother.

"You look great, Izuku!" She said, regarding him in his costume. "You're gonna, um, Oklahoma _Smash_ these entrance exams."

Izuku rolled his eyes, thankful that his costume hid his blush. "Mom, the Oklahoma smash is when you punch someone in the panhandle."

"I don't know what that means, but I'm sure you'll do great. You've come so far, and I'll be cheering you on the whole time." She was tearing up now, as if seeing him in the costume had made it all real. He had cleaned the beach, and soon he would be a hero. "I know you're going to do great." She said shakily.

"Oh, don't cry Mom, because if you cry I'll- I'll," now Izuku was tearing up, and is if they were practiced in synchronized sobbing, they both broke down into tears and started hugging under the umbrella. They held each other tightly for several minutes before Mrs. Midoriya was the one to break the hug.

"We should be getting home." She said, wiping her face with her sleeve. "You'll need lots of carbs for your big day tomorrow, and plenty of sleep, too."

"Right." Izuku nodded to the affirmative before he started taking down the umbrella, while Mrs. Midoriya shook out her beach towel, and together they made their way back to the stairs, with Izuku still in costume.

_Today's the day _Izuku thought excitedly, while he speed walked to the orientation entrance. _All of my hard work has been preparing me for this moment._ It didn't escape Izuku's attention that he was getting a lot of sideways glances from the other applicants as he filed into the open doors into the auditorium. He _was_ the only one in costume after all, and the fact that he stuck out so much only made his anxiety worse. He ducked into the first empty seat he could find close to the center row, and didn't speak to anyone. To avoid looking like an outcast, he reached into his bag and pulled out his hero notebook, which was still singed from when Kacchan got a hold of it. He flipped through the pages a little too quickly to pass for being casual, and stopped on a page about Crimson Riot, the chivalrous hero, which detailed his stats, including his height, weight, eye color, and blood type, and came with a drawing of the hero with his quirk active. On the other page was a summary of his quirk and his strategy, followed by the quote "As long as you have a manly spirit, it doesn't matter what kind of Quirk you have."

_I wonder if that applies to someone who doesn't have a quirk at all._ Izuku thought, his fingers still trembling on the page. He continued to read, or at least pretend to read, while the auditorium filled up, and the chatter grew louder. Izuku felt like a weight had been dropped in the pit of his stomach, and the anticipation of seeing the empty stage at the front of the room wasn't helping. He hadn't even done anything other than just show up, and already he was starting to sweat. What would the practical exam be like? Would they work in teams? Would it be a battle royale in an ever shrinking circle surrounded by a deadly storm? Oh wait, no, that's Fortnite. Would it be like Fortnite? Just as Izuku was starting to regret his decision not to play Fortnite, someone stepped out onto the stage. Izuku recognized him instantly; Hizashi Yamada, aka Present Mic. Quirk: Voice, height 185cm, blood type B.

The voice hero started explaining the rules, and after an awkward silence and a brief interruption, he concluded by wishing everyone luck, and bowing as everyone got up to leave. Before he knew it, Izuku found himself standing at the entrance to test site A. Actually being there didn't calm his nerves, but just ended up making him feel nauseous. _Is it too late to go to the bathroom?_ He thought, nervously.

"Out of my way!" A familiar voice shouted behind Izuku. He turned to see Kacchan pushing an invisible girl (or maybe it was just an empty sports bra?) out of his path as he forced his way to the front. He stopped in front of Izuku, and made a disgusted face. "You're wearing a costume? Did your _mom_ make that for you or something?!"

Izuku instinctively took a step back, raising an arm defensively. "W-w-w-well… um…"

"What are these? Ears?" Kacchan asked, taking a step forward to close the space between them, and flick the tips of his hood. "What's your quirk anyway? Are you some kind of rabbit or something? Do your teeth get longer or some stupid shit like that?"

_He doesn't recognize me?_

Kacchan seemed to lose interest when Izuku didn't immediately answer. "Whatever, just stay out of my way." He shouldered his way past Izuku to stand right in front of the large entrance gate. He threw his arms out wide, palms up and causing tiny explosions like he was holding fistfuls of pop rocks. "Alright, bring it on you assholes!" He shouted at the door. As if right on cue, the doors opened and without missing a beat, Kacchan launched himself into what appeared to be an abandoned model city. Invigorated by Kacchan's energy, the other applicants surged forward, squeezing tightly through the only open door. One kid, who was shorter than the others and had purple balls on his head got knocked over and started crying, but no one stopped, everyone eager to get as many points as possible.

Izuku decided the best course of action would be to stay near Kacchan, but following him was a challenge since he could just use his quirk to propel himself forward, while Izuku had to contend with the crowd. Fortunately, people started fanning out, and after only thirty seconds of the doors opening, there was a loud explosion, and hunks of scrap metal went flying through the air. Then a robot came into view just in time for Kacchan to land on it like a fly, and propel himself off with an explosion that blasted through its mechanical shell, and sent debris sailing out of the other side of its head. Izuku quickened his pace, picking a clear path through the dispersing bodies towards his airborne classmate, while Kacchan continued to zip from robot to robot, blasting their brains out and letting out guttural war cries mixed with violent threats. Izuku looked around frantically for any stray bots, finding one rounding a corner by itself, moving on four legs and pointing a scorpion like tail at anything that moved. Taking a chance, Izuku charged at the robot, screaming his head off like Kacchan. It swung its tail at him, he ducked, dodging it by a hair, and he threw a punch at its leg, which echoed with a dull metallic _THUD!_

"_Owwww_!" Izuku screamed, jumping back and cradling his hand, which he might just have broken in his attack. The robot appeared unfazed however, and swiped at him again with its tail, this time connecting with his body, squeezing the air from his lungs, and sending him flying like a discarded rag doll. He landed painfully on his back, gasping for air while the automaton advanced on him, raising its pointed tail to finish him while he was down.

_What kind of exam is this?!_

Izuku threw his arms out in front of his face in a vain attempt to shield himself from the inevitable. Then the robot shuddered, and the lights of its eyes faded as it unceremoniously powered down. Before Izuku could even question his good fortune, the purple headed short kid he'd seen crying at the start of the exam came strolling casually around the side of the machine, and leaned against it.

"Can you believe they actually put OFF buttons on the backs of these things?" He asked cheerfully.

"Y-you saved me." Izuku said, breathlessly.

"Well then we'll call it even since I also stole your kill. How many have you gotten so far?" The purple headed boy asked, offering Izuku a hand.

"None yet," Izuku said, taking his hand and rising to his feet.

"You better hurry up, then. I think we're almost out of-"

"TIME'S UP!" A loud voice interrupted, echoing throughout the testing site. Everyone and everything instantly fell silent. "The exam is now over, so everybody please make your way back to the exit OH, YEAH!"

"But, I didn't get a single one…" Izuku's nausea from before came back in full force all at once, like getting hit by a train. The purple headed kid gave him a sympathetic look, and came closer to rest a hand on the small of Izuku's back.

"Sorry man." The kid's voice did nothing to alleviate the weight on his chest, and the kid seemed to notice, because he gave Izuku a reassuring smile and continued, "your costume looks pretty cool though. I bet it helps you pick up lots of girls." That segue was enough to distract Izuku long enough to look down at himself as if he was just realizing that he was even wearing it. Of course he had designed it to look cool, but he didn't really have, um. Girls, in mind when he made it.

"Thanks?" He said, uncertainly. The purple headed kid just gave him a wink, and started walking towards the exit.

Mrs. Midoriya was waiting for him outside in the car. A look of nervous apprehension on her face as Izuku got in.

"So. How did it go?" She asked in the most casual tone she could muster.

"Not well." Izuku admitted, his throat tight. "I didn't get any points during the practical exam."

"Oh," Izuku felt like jumping out of the car, grabbing a shovel, and digging his own grave plot at her tone. "Well, we won't know for sure until the results come in. Plus, I think you probably did really well in the written portion, so…" her voice trailed off into mumbling as she continued to try to convince him, or maybe just herself, that there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be accepted, and he hoped she was right.

Seven days later and there was still no word from UA. _Maybe they only contact passing students?_ Izuku thought glumly, staring at the dead fish on his plate.

"IT'S HERE! It's here! Your test results!" Mrs Midoriya said, bursting through the front door, holding a letter. She was falling all over herself as she scrambled to bring it to him. Izuku took the letter and held it with both hands, checking over both sides as if to verify that it was, in fact, real. There was a long silence where neither of them moved, before Izuku slowly stood up, mumbled an excuse, and walked to his bedroom, eyes never leaving the letter. He closed the door as quietly as he could behind him, and brought it to his desk, setting it down and turning on his lamp, and focusing the light on the letter as if it were under interrogation.

He stared at it resignedly for a while. Based on self scoring, he knew he had only just passed the written exam, and he also knew the practical exam was more important, and that not scoring any points surely meant failure, and yet… his insides were tight. He was suddenly glad he'd only picked at his food earlier, because otherwise he might throw up. He closed his eyes, trying a trick he'd learned for jumping into cold water. He took a deep breath, and started counting back from three. _3, 2, 1…_ then all at once, with what little courage he could muster, he grabbed the envelope and tore it open. A written letter fell out, with a signature photocopied at the bottom. Without any further hesitation, he snatched the letter and began reading.

Mrs. Midoriya waited with bated breath outside of Izuku's room. She sat on her knees with her ear pressed to the door, careful not to make a peep or do anything that would alert her son to her presence.

_Did he make it?_

There was total silence, then the sound of paper tearing. She clasped a hand over her mouth to hold back a squeal. _What was that? Is that a good sign or a bad one? _She pressed her side flush to the door, willing another clue to present herself. Then she heard a noise. It started out quiet, like a whine, then grew in volume and intensity, until she could hear wailing on the other side of the door. She winced, and slowly got up to tiptoe back into the living room. She was pretty sure Izuku would have cried regardless of the outcome, but something told her this wasn't good news.


End file.
